


Birthright - Season 2

by FidgetGlitterBlossom



Series: Birthright [3]
Category: Sofia the First (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-08-02 11:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16304135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FidgetGlitterBlossom/pseuds/FidgetGlitterBlossom
Summary: Sofia and Cedric adjust to their new roles, while trying to distinguish friends from foes.  AU. Mild violence. October Special.





	1. Chapter 1

Sofia had given Cedric the most accurate report of what transpired in his absence as she could, given the circumstances, and not a word had passed between them since she finished trying to describe the hooded figure and how suddenly her fainting spell had come on. Now she sat at the table drinking a steaming hot cup of black coffee and watching over the rim of his 'World's Greatest Sorcerer' mug as Cedric dug through his spell books, stopping every so often to scratch his head and mutter to himself. As he assured her it would, the caffeine had helped the throbbing in her head, but it did little for the way the room spun every time she moved even the slightest bit. He slammed his current tome shut, and she nearly jumped out of her skin as the loud thud echoed through the stone workshop. With a groan, he slid down into the desk chair and shot her a reproachful glare that made her shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"Couldn't find anything?" she ventured cautiously.

He huffed in response, crossing his arms and leaning back to study her more intently. The silence stretched on, interrupted only by the sounds of her diligently trying to choke down the bitter beverage as instructed despite never having developed the taste for it that Cedric seemed to possess.

"I don't think it was a spell", he finally interrupted the stillness, regaining her full attention.

When he offered nothing further, she decided it was up to her to ask. "No?" She rubbed her temples and gagged down another sip despite the lurching protests of her otherwise empty stomach. "Whatever it was really packed a punch."

"I believe you were dosed with something", Cedric informed her, spinning his chair to face away from her again. "You should consider yourself lucky that it wasn't more potent. Considering the effects, it likely could have been lethal."

"I don't... They didn't seem like they wanted to harm me", she mused, trying again to recall anything useful about her mysterious rescuer. "Why save me just to poison me?"

"Damned if I know", Cedric replied, his shoulders shrugging to emphasise that he hadn't any more to go on than she did.

"So... you're not angry?" Sofia winced, and not entirely from the after effects, as Cedric swept the stack of books off of his desk, sending them clattering to the floor with a groan.

"I'm furious. You were reckless, and stupid, and you directly defied me." Cedric twirled around to stare at her again, but his expression quickly softened and he sighed. "I'm also too knackered to deal with you right now. I'm likely to say something I'll only regret later, so just... finish your coffee and get out."

Sofia dutifully gulped down the last of it, though it burned her tongue to do so, then stood to take the first few tentative steps toward the exit, only to pause and turn back again. "Shall I come up later for training?"

Cedric only grunted and turned his back to her again, leaving her to wonder whether she was meant to take the throaty noise as an affirmative.

She held the wall for stability as she crept slowly down the stairs, finding herself oddly wishing Cedric would've just had his fit and got it over with. Whatever he had to say to her would certainly be preferable to his awful silence broken only by short, restrained responses.  _I've never seen him this cross before. Not toward me, at least._  Some Slayer she was. The third day, and she had already disappointed Cedric, allowed two vampires to go free, and nearly died at least twice — possibly three times. Oh, and thanks to her, the Council had placed her Watcher on probation.  _So much for fate._  Emily was right, clearly the universe chose the wrong person. She scoffed at the absurdity of it all as she carefully trailed the winding corridors that led to her chambers. Rather, the ones she thought were supposed to lead her there. Blinking in confusion, she searched frantically in every direction, realising that she didn't recognise anything in this section of the palace. Where... but she didn't finish the thought. Her vision blurred, painting the strange surroundings red. She was vaguely aware of her feet slipping out from under her, and then there was nothing.

* * *

"Sofia, can you hear me?"

She woke in an unfamiliar bed, covered in scratchy black sheets that were thoroughly saturated with her own sweat. A cool compress was pressed firmly against her forehead, the only small source of comfort she could find.

"Where am I?" The words didn't come out right, so she frowned at herself and meant to try again, only to be stopped by the sound of Cedric's voice.

"That's not important right now. I think I know what you came into contact with."

She pried her eyelids open, startled to find a monster looming over her, grotesque and terrifying in appearance. She drew away from his touch and shrieked, scrambling away from him as far as she could until her back came into contact with the wall. An enormous claw reached out and... stroked her fringe away from where it was plastered on her face. That couldn't be right. Calming somewhat, she cocked her head to the side, taking in the oddly familiar gold-speckled eyes that peered down at her with deep concern.

"Cedric? Why do you look like that?"

The beast glanced down at himself, then shook his head frantically. "You're hallucinating, it's a side effect." He dismissively waved his massive hand through the air between them. "I need to administer the antidote, but I warn you, it isn't pleasant."

Sofia squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the relaxing baritone of his voice instead of his nightmarish visage. After a deep breath eased her frazzled nerves, she gave a firm nod in response. "So what, I drink some foul tasting tea, or–" she began, daring to peek out at him again.

"Tea would be too slow. The poison has already been in your system for far too long, and you're only getting worse. If you were an ordinary girl, it would have killed you by now." He brandished a long metal tube, one end jutting out into a sharp pointed tip.

Though she didn't have much experience with such things, she recognised it for what it was - a needle.

"Why do you have that?" Sofia demanded, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.

It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she did. Implicitly. She was, however, petrified of the object he held and what he intended to do with it.

"There will be time for questions later, girl. A simple yes is all I need", he pressed, gritting his teeth at her stalling.

She scrunched her eyes closed again, gathered all of her courage, and nodded. There was a sharp pain in the side of her neck, and she sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, then hissed at the sensation.

"Sorry. I did try to numb it while you slept, but you were thrashing around, and..."

She unscrewed her eyes to see Cedric, the normal human one, standing over her, his anger from earlier gone without a trace, replaced with nothing but genuine worry for her well-being. She tried to scoot to the edge of the bed and stand up but he was quick to stop her, resting a hand on her shoulder and urging her to stay put.

"You need to rest. That was Calabar bean extract, no telling how you'll handle it." He stood to place the needle on top of his dresser, muttering to himself, "Ironic..."

"What is?" she questioned, overhearing him.

He returned to the bedside and lifted the covers, gesturing for her to climb back underneath and lie down. "That it takes a poison to counteract a poison." He sighed, perching on the edge of the bed next to her. "Belladonna. That's what he drugged you with."

"How can you be sure?" Sofia asked, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on her bent arm to face him better.

"Are you feeling better?"

She nodded, truthfully already feeling the dreadful symptoms of the poison lessening with each passing second.

"That's how I'm sure." He shrugged, and Sofia's eyes grew wide at the revelation.

"You didn't know if it would work!" she spat the accusation, and he ducked his head sheepishly. "Why would you-"

"Your symptoms were an exact match, and if I'd waited any longer you'd be dead. Besides, I only used enough Calabar to give you a stomach ache, at most."

She should be angry with him for using her as his guinea pig, but the remedy was working perfectly. Besides, it was a huge relief to see him relatively back to his usual self.

"Next time, be sure first."

Cedric nodded apologetically, leaning against the cherry wood headboard, his cheerful facade melting away to show how truly exhausted he was.

"Don't tell me you intend for this to happen again", he teased weakly.

Sofia stuck her tongue out at him.

"I don't think I could survive another night like this one, and I'm not even the one who was poisoned."

Sofia sighed, honestly sorry for all she had put him through since leaving his tower the night before. She shifted until her head rested on his chest, wanting to be closer to him despite how heated her body felt. His hand reached around her back to rub comforting circles across her upper arm and she sighed into the light embrace.

"I never wanted to be a Watcher, you know", Cedric confessed, tucking his chin to see the surprise blossoming on her face. "Quite the contrary. I spent the better part of my life trying to get out of it. But, well you know better than anyone, don't you? Can't escape destiny, no matter how hard you rail against it."

"What happened?" Sofia quizzed, though the remedy, or perhaps the previous evening's events, made her eyelids grow steadily heavier.

"I finally agreed, if only to get my father off my back. Then the Council failed to identify my potential Slayer, and I thought I had somehow lucked my way out of the whole thing." Cedric chuckled, and Sofia smiled at the way the sound reverberated through the fabric of his tunic. "I could pretend to be cooperating without ever having to actually do it."

"You seemed to take it so seriously yesterday", she mumbled sleepily, then shifted to gaze up at him. "Did something change?"

"Of course it did. I found out you were my Slayer", he explained simply, squeezing her closer to him. "Sofia… if it had been anyone else, I would still be trying to escape my fate. Look, my point is, I'm a terrible Watcher. I never took the training seriously, and I've probably forgotten most of it. My Slayer already nearly died. More importantly, I almost lost my best friend."

Sofia couldn't have prevented the laughter that escaped her, and he stared down at her in utter confusion as she buried her face to at least muffle it somewhat.

"I'm being serious here, the least you could do is not laugh at me."

"I'm not, honestly. Before I fainted, I was thinking the same thing about how I'd already let you down", she admitted once she regained her composure.

"We're bound to disappoint each other, Sofia. We're going to have disagreements, and fail to see eye to eye. That's just life. We're our own people, so it's only natural."

She did her best to hear him out, though it was difficult to follow his words with the pulsing of his heart lulling her into slumber.

"What counts is what we do afterwards, how we move forward from those moments. You and I, we've always handled that part pretty well, haven't we?"

"Because that part's easy", she reassured him, finally giving in to her weariness and allowing her eyes to stay closed instead of forcing them back open. "We're a team, remember."

"S'right. We're in this together."

She smiled to herself as she slipped off into a dreamless sleep.  _'We're in this together'_. It seemed to be rapidly becoming their motto.

* * *

Sofia woke again to find herself alone in the bed and pouted at the empty expanse of mattress beside her. While she and Cedric were often affectionate with one another, they certainly had never snuggled like that before, and she doubted she'd be afforded the opportunity to do so again. It had been rather pleasant, to say the very least, to drift off to the steady beating of his heart and the low murmurs of his comforting words. Setting aside the palpable sense of loss the empty room filled her with, she rose and stretched muscles that, thankfully, no longer seared with pain. Her stomach, too, was better, though now it demanded her attention for other reasons.

She stood and exited the room, surprised to find herself standing in the hallway of what appeared to be a hidden private residence within the tower. She twirled around to take in the space, only to find herself face-to-face with its occupant.

"Oh good, you're up." He smiled warmly at her, but she could sense something was amiss just below the surface of his cheerful expression.

What that something could be, though, she hadn't the faintest idea and with Cedric it was often best not to pry before he felt like discussing things.

"You, uhm… you slept well?"

She scrutinised him more closely, growing increasingly certain in her assessment that all was not right with the sorcerer. If there was one thing Cedric held in particular contempt, it was small talk, and his strained efforts at it spoke volumes.

"Yes… Yes, of course. Did you?"

His only answer came in the form of a distracted 'hm?'. "Is something the matter?" She placed a hand on the crook of his elbow, but he stared down at it with such intensity that she pulled back without thinking.

"I'm fine, Sofia", he promised, failing to look her in the eye. "Why don't you go get yourself something to eat?"

She was about to argue that he clearly was not 'fine', but her stomach growled its agreement at the suggestion and she flushed in embarrassment.

Cedric hastily showed her how to exit his private quarters, stopping at the door instead of heading out into the workshop with her.

"Should I come back after?" she asked him.

Cedric shook his head. "We've both been through a lot today. Let's just– we'll work on your training tomorrow, alright?"

She opened her mouth to respond, perhaps to point out that they could just enjoy each other's company without worrying about training, but the door shut in her face much the way it used to when she was a child.

* * *

 

After checking to make sure the coast was clear, Sofia snuck out of the palace under the cover of night, covering the distance between the grand entrance and the bridge in astonishing time thanks to her enhanced speed. When she was safely within the boundaries of the village she stopped to catch her breath, then ambled through the lesser used cobblestone roads that led to the cemetery.

It didn't matter that Cedric was acting strangely, or that Emily was watching them like a hawk. It especially didn't matter that no one, not even herself, believed that she could do this. It was her duty, her calling, and the only way to both prove herself capable and protect others was to finish what she'd started the night before. Training or no training, there were at least two vampires still lurking in the village, and no one who lived there was aware of the danger in their midst. She knew the things that went bump in the night, and it fell to her to do something about them. If doing the thing she was born for just so happened to temporarily clear the chaos in her head, forcing her to focus only on the here and now of the battle, well… that was just an added bonus, wasn't it?

She slid to a halt in front of the gates, staring up at the ornate black metal before shoving it aside. It was easy to pick out the path back to the old mausoleum, especially with her instinct acting as a better guide than any map ever drawn. She'd kill Benjamin, and that other vampire, and the one after that. She'd rid the kingdom of every demon with enough nerve to show its hideous face if it meant Cedric would have a Slayer he could be proud of and the Council would leave them be. Perhaps Goodwyn would even find it in him to swallow his pride and admit he'd been wrong about them. Now that would be no small miracle.

The crypt was just coming into view when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind, yanking her off the path. She flipped herself around and threw a punch at her attacker before even bothering to see who it was.

The hooded figure stumbled backwards, a hand to their obscured face. "Ow, fuck!" A man's voice. "What did you do that for?"

"You poisoned me!" Sofia accused him.

Sure, it wasn't really why she'd hit him, but he did have it coming after what he put her through.

"A simple miscalculation, I assure you. My intention was to knock you out, not cause you any harm. I thought you'd be..." He paused, and though Sofia couldn't see the face beneath the hood, she was acutely aware of his scrutinising gaze and her flesh goose-pimpled everywhere she imagined him to be appraising. "bigger", he finished plainly.

For the first time that day Sofia was glad to have earned someone's disapproval, but that wasn't the part that struck her most.

This man had imagined her. He had expected a Slayer, albeit a larger one, when he found her in the mausoleum.

"You're with the Council", she stated, taking a step back from him.

She knew enough about the group to have no desire to speak with one of them alone, especially after her blatant missteps during the confrontation with Emily.

"Not as such."

She rather disliked the mockery in his tone, and thought to tell him as much, but she had more questions now and didn't suppose that bickering with him over manners would lead to her curiosity being sated.

"Then how do you know about that?"

The thick covering of his shoulders raised up and dropped down in an exaggerated shrug.

"I could be wrong. Perhaps you're only a stupid girl who marched herself into a den of vampires, the lair of a Master no less, drastically unprepared." He reached into the front of his robe and began to draw something. "Perhaps you have a death wish of some sort. On the off chance that I'm right..."

Assuming he was getting a weapon, Sofia retrieved her stake and raised it between them. "Drop it!" she hissed, fixing her steely gaze on him again.

He held the item — a hefty leather bound journal — in one hand as he raised his arms above his head. "It's only a book, Sofia."

She suppressed a shudder at the sound of her name and, keeping her aim trained on the general location of his heart, took one hesitant step towards him.

"One I believe you may be quite interested in."

Her eyes flickered from it to him, studying him suspiciously. He had poisoned her and tricked her into all but confessing her secret. There wasn't a single reason for her to trust this stranger. The logical thing would be to turn and flee, to seek out the shelter of Cedric's side and tell her Watcher everything that had transpired while she was away.

"What's in it?" She slid closer to him, reaching a tentative hand out to take the book.

He tugged it away at the last second. "You didn't say please", he taunted, wagging a finger in her direction. "This is the Watcher's Diary kept by Goodwyn the Great."

Sofia wasn't sure why he expected her to be interested in such a thing. After all, anything useful in Goodwyn's journal was just as likely to be imparted to her by the man himself, or at the very least his son.

"It seems his proficiency at being a sorcerer is exceeded only by his knack for being a Watcher. His Slayer lived a lot longer than most girls."

"Good for her." Sofia crossed her arms and resisted the urge to roll her eyes like a petulant child, no longer interested in what he had to offer her. "Now if you'll excuse me–" She turned to leave, but he was faster than she'd anticipated, gripping her arm with a strength nearly rivalling her own.

"Two years", he spat as she fought to dislodge his fingers.

Sofia froze, trying to wrap her head around what he'd just said. "What?"

He released her of his own accord, apparently believing she was now willing to hear him out. "Goodwyn's Slayer. She lived two years after being chosen."

She put some space between them, urging her mouth to form something more coherent than the inane stream of random consonants that fell from her lips.

"What's wrong, Sofia? Not impressed? That's double the average, quite an accomplishment."

 _Double the... that isn't true!_  She refused to believe that most Slayers died within the first year. Slayers were strong and fast. They healed at an incredible rate and they could sense danger when it approached. Memories from the night before came flooding in, no matter how hard she tried to shove them back into her subconscious. For all her supernatural strength, the vampire he'd saved her from held her easily, stilling her attempts to escape and very nearly...

"You're lying." She made another failed attempt to collect the journal, but his size advantage won out.

Distant footsteps behind him disrupted the brief quiet that followed, and Sofia noticed the way he shifted nervously at the sound.

"Maybe, maybe not", he muttered, then gestured his head in the direction of the noise. "Does Daddy know you're here?"

She shook her head slowly, shifting her attention away from him to see who was coming. "No one does. I came alone", she informed him as he scooted closer, reaching back into his robe for what she guessed really was a weapon this time.

"Sofia!" There was no doubt that it was Cedric searching for her, and he was getting close.

"Alone, right? We'll meet again, Sofia." He dashed off down the path and through the back gates.

Sofia tried to pursue him but a barrier of thick, thorny vines sprung up to cover the opening. She grunted in frustration, kicking the fence beside it to unleash some of her anger.

 


	2. Falling Out

"What are you doing?" he asked, as if the answer wasn't painfully obvious.

"Rescuing my best friend!"

She charged straight into the group of waiting vampires, smirking victoriously as she heard his heavy feet chasing after her. Whatever else this man might be, he was about to become her reluctant ally in battle.

By breaking the branch, she'd thrown away any chance at surprising the foes, so she would have to rely on her own abilities and hope that the hooded man was at least half as good at fighting as he was at being an irritating jerk.

"Sofia, watch out!" he called from behind her.

She didn't need a warning to see the vampire, a young man who looked just enough like her brother to be disturbing, headed directly for her.

"I can't believe you fell for this", the fiend mocked her.

If there was a point when Sofia might have cared that her attack amused this monster, she was far past it now. Raising her makeshift stake, Sofia raced forward to attack, but the James impostor only used her momentum to flip her through the air, landing her roughly on her back behind him.

"That didn't hurt", she wheezed, rolling away as he tried to descend on her. "Not… one bit."

She struggled to her feet before he did, kicking him back down to the ground as much to let out her pent up frustration with this whole rotten night as to keep her slim advantage over the vampire.

"You can't win."

He wrapped his strong hands around her ankle before she could slip away but she swept her other leg up, striking her worn boot across his monstrous face. The act cost her what precious balance she had. She fell again, this time right beside him. Fortunately, she recovered faster than he did, lifting herself up just enough to drive the stake through his heart. He disappeared beneath her and she landed face first in the hard earth below. _One down…_

Something was off.

There were three vampires left, and by her estimation at least one of them should be upon her by now. Raising up on her hands, she glanced around to take in her surroundings. Her oddly peaceful surroundings.

A few metres away, Cedric sat propped against a headstone, his head lolled to the side, eyes still shut - if she didn't know any better she could imagine he was sleeping peacefully. From somewhere behind him, she could just barely make out the sounds of a battle, the robed man fighting against the very foes he'd warned her away from. It wasn't right to leave him to face the remaining vampires alone, not when she'd downright forced him into this, so she pushed herself up, ignoring the answering pain that shot through her spine, and hurried over to Cedric.

"Cedric… wake up!"

Shaking her friend did nothing aside from eliciting a small groan from him, so she changed course to digging through his robe pockets in search of her stake. This, too, proved fruitless. Likely he'd dropped it when he got himself captured, and the broken branch would have to continue to suffice for the time being.

"I'll be back for you", she whispered, gently stroking her fingertips across his cheek.

Content that he was safe, at least for now, she headed down the small slope beyond in time to find the hooded man too engaged with the vampire in front of him to notice the one sneaking up behind him. She broke into a run, but didn't make it more than a few steps before he spun around, waving a hand through the air as he moved. In an instant, vines began to crop up around them, ensnaring one of his opponents and lashing the other as he tried to flee. Her eyes grew wide at the impossible display. Vampires were supposed to be immune to magic, or at the very least resistant to it. Weren't they?

"Don't just stand there!" he commanded, whipping his head up to face her. "The last one went that way." He gestured towards town, and she was aware that the final vampire must be stopped before he made it out of the cemetery, but she couldn't just leave him to face these two alone… "Go!"

With that, her mind was made up, and she ran the path to Dunwiddie, attempting to clear her muddled thoughts and attune with those enhanced Slayer senses that had never yet led her astray.

The hooded man had been deceived, she learnt after a few minutes, when her intuition led her to make a sharp turn about halfway through the graveyard. The vampire wasn't on its way to town to feed on the late night revellers, it was doubling back to the mausoleum. To what end: to seek cover, or gather reinforcements, perhaps to warn the others… she wasn't sure, but she intended to stop the vampire before its purposes were revealed.

She skidded to a halt when the cloaked figure came into view again, darting past her without taking any notice of her whatsoever.

He knew. Probably before she did. He'd sent her on a wild goose chase so he could go after the last one on his own. But why?

The answers would have to come later, as a trail of blood snaked across the dirt behind him, alerting Sofia to the danger he was putting himself in by hunting down a vampire on his own while injured. Not that she was in the greatest shape herself, but at least she wasn't torn open anywhere. Her extremely mixed impressions of the man be damned, she was the Slayer, and that meant it was her duty to save him. Resolute in her decision, she chased after him.

"You're not who I was expecting."

Sofia paused, spying on the vampire from a short distance away as her companion encountered her.

"No. I'm better." If a voice could smirk, his did.

Sofia had to remind herself that she was not going to let the arrogant stranger become dinner, no matter how satisfying it might be to watch.

"Wanna know why?"

"Not particularly." The woman, no doubt a noble in her previous incarnation given the lavish garment she wore and the way she carried herself, glared scornfully at him as she advanced.

He dodged her attack effortlessly, and swept his leg to kick hers out from under her. "Too bad." With a mirthless laugh he settled into a spot next to her, reaching a hand out to conjure more thorny vines, which wrapped around the fiend and locked her firmly in place. "I'm better because she's too busy fretting over everyone else to focus on keeping herself alive. I tried to send her home, and what does she do? Picks a fight she can't possibly hope to win. The selfless fool."

He glanced over his shoulder, his gaze landing so directly on Sofia that there was no way it was coincidental. Embarrassment over being caught eavesdropping warred with righteous indignation, and she stood frozen in place by his unseen gaze, unsure whether to duck further out of sight or march right up to him and tell him a thing or two about loyalty.

"I know you're there, Sofia."

When she didn't answer, his fabric covered shoulders shrugged, and he did something even more alarming. He released the vampiress from her prison.

"I've known the entire time", he added, easily avoiding an attack.

Sofia witnessed the battle between the robed figure and the young woman in quiet amazement. The two bodies moved fluidly through the night, equally matched as much in grace as they were in speed and brute strength.

She was especially transfixed by the man, who fought with precision and cold calculation, possessing a keen insight of when and how to strike his opponent. This, she realised, was what it would take to survive her first year as a Slayer. This brutal mastery of her own abilities, and absolute knowledge of the enemy were required if she wanted to live to see her next birthday.

Replaying her previous encounters with the undead and comparing them to the one unfolding before her left her reeling with how woefully inadequate she was for this task that fate had hoisted upon her.

The woman hissed at him as she tried to escape, the animalistic sound calling Sofia's focus back to the present, but another carefree flick of his wrist caused a sharp branch to jut from the ground below, the pointed tip piercing her through the back and turning her to dust before she even registered that she'd been struck. Sofia gasped, in absolute awe of this man who seemed to command the very earth so effortlessly.

"Here, I found this." He trudged the few metres to her hiding spot and held out a stake for her to recover, but it wasn't the weapon that caught her attention.

His sleeve was torn, the source of his blood loss prominently displayed beneath.

"You're injured." Sofia reached a hand out to inspect the angry wound, but he jerked away from her, covering his arm with one gloved hand.

"It's nothing. Caught myself on my own vines."

Sofia rolled her eyes as he drew his robe further in around himself, unsurprised to find he possessed a stubborn streak. "Even so, you should let me-"

"I said it's nothing!" he snapped. "I'll put a little yarrow on it, and it'll be perfectly fine."

"For your information, having friends and a family doesn't make me weak", Sofia changed the subject, seeing no point in arguing with him further if he refused to let her help. "On the contrary, it gives me something to fight for."

"Yeah? Try losing them."

A hush fell on the cemetery as she fought for a response. Was he speaking from personal experience, or simply trying to get even further under her skin? There was no good way to tell for certain, short of asking him to elaborate, and she hardly knew him well enough to encroach on such a personal topic.

"I'll go see if there's any more around. Your Watcher's probably up by now. You should go check on him before he gets himself captured again."

"That wasn't his fault", she shot, crossing her arms and staring defiantly at the shadow beneath his hood, the old obligation to defend her mentor rearing as strongly as ever despite their earlier quarrel. "And he has a name, you know."

"Not interested!" he called over his shoulder, already marching away from her.

* * *

"Cedric!" Ignoring the fact that he was struggling to his feet, Sofia dove at her best friend, knocking him backwards onto the ground and covering his cheek with quick, light kisses despite a stream of stammered protests from him.

Cedric could have died before she found him, and those horrible things she'd said to him would have been the last, and the knowledge of that was beyond terrifying. If time was no longer a luxury she possessed, then she was determined not to spend it at odds with the people who meant most to her in the world. _Try losing them_ , the remark repeated against her will, and she suppressed a small shiver at the very notion of such a tragedy.

"Honestly, Sofia," He caught her by the shoulders mid-attack and held her at arms length, but the lopsided grin told he wore told her he was just as relieved to see her as she was him. "This is a bit much, even for you."

"I'm just glad you're alright", she confessed, fighting his grip until she was resting against his chest. Cedric chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes, I can see that", he mumbled into the top of her head.

"I mean it. I said the most awful things to you, and if that was the last time we ever spoke…" She trailed off, sucking in a deep breath to compose herself.

"Me too." He drew her back to him, running a hand through her dishevelled curls. "Whatever you want, I'll support you in it. If you want to quit, or-or wage war on the council, or even just have a good cry..."

The sound of leaves crunching beneath heavy boots, followed by a throat clearing behind her, reminded Sofia that they were not, in fact, the only two people in the world, so she shuffled off of Cedric's lap to stand, offering her hand once she was steady and tugging him to his feet.

"I scouted around, but I don't see any more vampires in the area. Even the mausoleum's been abandoned." He paused, his covered head turning back and forth between the two of them. "You should take your Watcher home. This is no place for him."

Sofia opened her mouth to retort, again, to his referring to Cedric in title only, but he was already retreating.

"I don't know whether to strangle him or thank him", Cedric admitted, returning his attention to Sofia.

She certainly understood the sentiment. The robed man had only been in her life a very short time, but he'd already been both foe and ally, not to mention all the trouble he'd stirred up with that book of his, and she wondered if they'd ever learn his true nature.

"Did he just say 'Watcher'?"

"I'll… explain that later", Sofia promised, though she didn't really have any idea how much the man knew about them, either. She supposed it was enough to cause further damage — were he so inclined — which meant Cedric needed to be aware of the situation.

"Let's go home, then", he replied, producing his wand to transport them back to the tower.

"I have a better idea." Sofia grinned, collecting Cedric's free hand and leading him back onto the worn path to town.


	3. The Rescue

"What are you doing?" he asked, as if the answer wasn't painfully obvious.

"Rescuing my best friend!" She charged straight into the group of waiting vampires, smirking victoriously as she heard his heavy feet chasing after her. Whatever else this man might be, he was about to become her reluctant ally in battle.

By breaking the branch, she'd thrown away any chance at surprising the foes, so she would have to rely on her own abilities and hope that the hooded man was at least half as good at fighting as he was at being an irritating jerk.

"Sofia, watch out!" he called, like she needed a warning to see the vampire, a young man who looked just enough like her brother to be disturbing, headed directly for her.

"I can't believe you fell for this", the fiend mocked, but if there was a point when Sofia might have cared that her attack amused this monster, she was far past it now.

Raising her makeshift stake, Sofia raced forward to attack, but the James impostor only used her momentum to flip her through the air, landing her roughly on her back behind him.

"That didn't hurt." She wheezed, rolling away as he tried to descend on her. "Not… one bit." She struggled to her feet before he did, kicking him back down to the ground as much to let out her pent up frustration with this whole rotten night as to keep her slim advantage over the vampire.

"You can't win." He wrapped his strong hands around her ankle before she could slip away but she swept her other leg up, striking her worn boot across his monstrous face. The act cost her what precious balance she had. She fell again, this time right beside him. Fortunately, she recovered faster than he did, lifting herself up just enough to drive the stake through his heart. He disappeared beneath her and she landed face first in the hard earth below. One down…

Something was off. There were three vampires left, and by her estimation at least one of them should be upon her by now. Raising up on her hands, she glanced around to take in her surroundings. Her oddly peaceful surroundings. A few metres away, Cedric sat propped against a headstone, his head lolled to the side, eyes still shut - if she didn't know any better she could imagine he was sleeping peacefully. From somewhere behind him, she could just barely make out the sounds of a battle, the robed man fighting against the very foes he'd warned her away from.

It wasn't right to leave him to face the remaining vampires alone, not when she'd downright forced him into this, so she pushed herself up, ignoring the answering pain that shot through her spine, and hurried over to Cedric.

"Cedric… wake up!" Shaking her friend did nothing aside from eliciting a small groan from him, so she changed course to digging through his robe pockets in search of her stake. This, too, proved fruitless. Likely he'd dropped it when he got himself captured, and the broken branch would have to continue to suffice for the time being. "I'll be back for you", she whispered, gently stroking her fingertips across his cheek.

Content that he was safe, at least for now, she headed down the small slope beyond in time to find the hooded man too engaged with the vampire in front of him to notice the one sneaking up behind him. She broke into a run, but didn't make it more than a few steps before he spun around, waving a hand through the air as he moved. In an instant, vines began to crop up around them, ensnaring one of his opponents and lashing the other as he tried to flee. Her eyes grew wide at the impossible display. Vampires were supposed to be immune to magic, or at the very least resistant to it. Weren't they?

"Don't just stand there!" he commanded, whipping his head up to face her. "The last one went that way." He gestured towards town, and she was aware that the final vampire must be stopped before he made it out of the cemetery, but she couldn't just leave him to face these two alone… "Go!"

With that, her mind was made up, and she ran the path to Dunwiddie, attempting to clear her muddled thoughts and attune with those enhanced Slayer senses that had never yet led her astray.

The hooded man had been deceived, she learnt after a few minutes, when her intuition led her to make a sharp turn about halfway through the graveyard. The vampire wasn't on his way to town to feed on the late night revellers, he was doubling back to the mausoleum. To what end: to seek cover, or gather reinforcements, perhaps to warn the others… She wasn't sure, but she intended to stop him before his purposes were revealed.

She skidded to a halt when the cloaked figure came into view again, darting past her without taking any notice of her whatsoever. He knew. Probably before she did. He'd sent her on a wild goose chase so he could go after the last one on his own. But why?

The answers would have to come later, as a trail of blood snaked across the dirt behind him, alerting Sofia to the danger he was putting himself in by hunting down a vampire on his own while injured. Not that she was in the greatest shape herself, but at least she wasn't torn open anywhere. Her extremely mixed impressions of the man be damned, she was the Slayer, and that meant it was her duty to save him. Resolute in her decision, she chased after him.

"You're not who I was expecting." Sofia paused, spying on the vampire from a short distance away as her companion encountered her.

"No. I'm better." If a voice could smirk, his did, and Sofia had to remind herself that she was not going to let the arrogant stranger become dinner, no matter how satisfying it might be to watch. "Wanna know why?"

"Not particularly." The woman, no doubt a noble in her previous incarnation given the lavish garment she wore and the way she carried herself, glared scornfully at him as she advanced.

He dodged her attack effortlessly, and swept his leg to kick hers out from under her. "Too bad." With a mirthless laugh he settled into a spot next to her, reaching a hand out to conjure more thorny vines, which wrapped around the fiend and locked her firmly in place. "I'm better because she's too busy fretting over everyone else to focus on keeping herself alive. I tried to send her home, and what does she do? Picks a fight she can't possibly hope to win. The selfless fool." He glanced over his shoulder, his gaze landing so directly on Sofia that there was no way it was coincidental. Embarrassment over being caught eavesdropping warred with righteous indignation, and she stood frozen in place by his unseen gaze, unsure whether to duck further out of sight or march right up to him and tell him a thing or two about loyalty.

"I know you're there, Sofia." When she didn't answer, his fabric covered shoulders shrugged, and he did something even more alarming. He released the vampiress from her prison. "I've known the entire time."

Sofia witnessed the battle between the robed figure and the young woman in quiet amazement. The two bodies moved fluidly through the night, equally matched as much in grace as they were in speed and brute strength. She was especially transfixed by the man, who fought with precision and cold calculation, possessing a keen insight of when and how to strike his opponent. This, she realised, was what it would take to survive her first year as a Slayer. This brutal mastery of her own abilities, and absolute knowledge of the enemy were required if she wanted to live to see her next birthday. Replaying her previous encounters with the undead and comparing them to the one unfolding before her left her reeling with how woefully inadequate she was for this task that fate had hoisted upon her.

The woman hissed at him as she tried to escape, the animalistic sound calling Sofia's focus back to the present, but another carefree flick of his wrist caused a sharp branch to jut from the ground below, the pointed tip piercing her through the back and turning her to dust before she even registered that she'd been struck. Sofia gasped, in absolute awe of this man who seemed to command the very earth so effortlessly.

"Here, I found this." He trudged the few metres to her hiding spot and held out a stake for her to recover, but it wasn't the weapon that caught her attention. His sleeve was torn, the source of his blood loss prominently displayed beneath.

"You're injured." Sofia reached a hand out to inspect the angry wound, but he jerked away from her, covering his arm with one gloved hand.

"It's nothing. Caught myself on my own vines." Sofia rolled her eyes as he drew his robe further in around himself, unsurprised to find he possessed a stubborn streak.

"Even so, you should let me-"

"I said it's nothing!" he snapped. "I'll put a little yarrow on it, and it'll be perfectly fine."

"For your information, having friends and a family doesn't make me weak", Sofia changed the subject, seeing no point in arguing with him further if he refused to let her help. "On the contrary, it gives me something to fight for."

"Yeah? Try losing them." A hush fell on the cemetery as she fought for a response. Was he speaking from personal experience, or simply trying to get even further under her skin? There was no good way to tell for certain, short of asking him to elaborate, and she hardly knew him well enough to encroach on such a personal topic. "I'll go see if there's any more around. Your Watcher's probably up by now. You should go check on him before he gets himself captured again."

"That wasn't his fault", she shot, crossing her arms and staring defiantly at the shadow beneath his hood, the old obligation to defend her mentor rearing as strongly as ever despite their earlier quarrel. "And he has a name, you know."

"Not interested!" he called over his shoulder, already marching away from her.

* * *

"Cedric!" Ignoring the fact that he was struggling to his feet, Sofia dove at her best friend, knocking him backwards onto the ground and covering his cheek with quick, light kisses despite a stream of stammered protests from him. Cedric could have died before she found him, and those horrible things she'd said to him would have been the last, and the knowledge of that was beyond terrifying. If time was no longer a luxury she possessed, then she was determined not to spend it at odds with the people who meant most to her in the world. Try losing them, the remark repeated against her will, and she suppressed a small shiver at the very notion of such a tragedy.

"Honestly, Sofia," He caught her by the shoulders mid-attack and held her at arms length, but the lopsided grin told he wore told her he was just as relieved to see her as she was him. "This is a bit much, even for you."

"I'm just glad you're alright", she confessed, fighting his grip until she was resting against his chest. Cedric chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes, I can see that", he mumbled into the top of her head. The sound of leaves crunching beneath heavy boots, followed by a throat clearing behind her, reminded Sofia that they were not, in fact, the only two people in the world, so she shuffled off of Cedric's lap to stand, offering her hand once she was steady and tugging him to his feet.

"I scouted around, but I don't see any more vampires in the area. Even the mausoleum's been abandoned." He paused, his covered head turning back and forth between the two of them. "You should take your Watcher home. This is no place for him." Sofia opened her mouth to retort, again, to his referring to Cedric in title only, but he was already retreating.

"I don't know whether to strangle him or thank him", Cedric admitted, returning his attention to Sofia. She certainly understood the sentiment. The robed man had only been in her life a very short time, but he'd already been both foe and ally, not to mention all the trouble he'd stirred up with that book of his, and she wondered if they'd ever learn his true nature. "Did he just say 'Watcher'?"

"I'll… explain that later", Sofia promised, though she didn't really have any idea how much the man knew about them, either. She supposed it was enough to cause further damage — were he so inclined — which meant Cedric needed to be aware of the situation.

"Let's go home, then", he replied with a shrug, producing his wand to transport them back to the tower.

"I have a better idea." Sofia grinned, collecting Cedric's free hand and leading him back onto the worn path to town.


	4. A Night Out

"Care to enlighten me?" Cedric enquired about their destination as Sofia led him out of the cemetery.

She only shook her head, unwilling to spoil the surprise. What she needed - what they both deserved - was some normality, no matter how fleeting, if they expected to maintain their sanity. She had just the place in mind, somewhere they could pretend they were ordinary friends on a night out, friends who hadn't nearly just lost each other for good. As they strolled through the cobblestone streets of the village, Sofia hummed and pounced upon every stray leaf that crossed their path, purposefully leaving all the ugliness of the night behind them at the graveyard.

"A tavern?" Cedric's expression was a perfect blend of perplexed and intrigued as they slowed to a halt in front of the small stone building, warmth and cheer practically radiating from within its walls. "I hardly think–"

"Don't. Don't think about it. Just relax with me for a little while?"

For a moment his expression was unreadable, and she truly suspected he would refuse her request, but soon a crooked grin lazily traced its way across his face, and he breezed past her to hold open the door.

Sofia bobbed her head in appreciation as she entered, leading the way to the bar in the centre of the sparsely populated establishment.

"So, what'll it be?" Cedric questioned, joining her side and browsing over a chalked menu on the makeshift wall above the shelves of colourful glass bottles.

Sofia didn't need to read it. she knew exactly what she'd come here for.

"Hot apple cider", she answered enthusiastically, already rubbing her hands together in anticipation of the seasonal beverage she always waited the entire year for.

He quirked an eyebrow at her request, but relayed it to the barkeeper when he took their order. As she expected, Cedric ordered himself a whiskey — though he did select a cinnamon-flavoured one instead of his standard fare.

While they waited for the burly but sweet-mannered man to return with their drinks, Sofia scanned the room for a good place to sit. The perfect spot awaited, a cosy secluded corner near the lit fireplace, containing two inviting arm chairs. Worried that it wouldn't stay vacant for long, she hurried to claim the seats, sinking into the mustard yellow chair with a heavy sigh of relief. Parts of her she barely knew existed still ached from battle, and the heat of the fire eased the tension in her bones far better than she had anticipated.

She stared into the flames, lulled by their hypnotic dancing, until Cedric handed her the mug full of cider, which she pressed between her palms. This was what she wanted: a safe, happy night out with her best friend, filled with comfort and pleasant conversations. Fighting might help to clear her head temporarily, but it could never lift her spirit the way five minutes in the pub had already done.

"Are you going to drink that or stare at it all night?" Cedric teased, sneaking a quick glance in her direction before discreetly withdrawing his wand and whispering a few words in Latin, his magic coaxing the small fire to attention.

"I was just thinking", Sofia admitted with a soft smile.

"So was I. Something keeps nagging at me", Cedric mused between sips of his whiskey, the drink already colouring his usually pale cheeks. He removed his robe and discarded it on the arm of his chair before easing back into the tufted seat. "Four vampires in one night, several in the last few days… I wasn't under the impression that Dunwiddie had such a high population."

Sofia tried her hardest to mask her disappointment in his choice of topics. He was more knowledgeable about the subject, after all, and if he felt something was amiss, it was worth discussing. There would be time for relaxing once his worries were addressed.

"You think there's something strange going on?" Sofia enquired, leaning forwards to maintain the intimacy of their hushed conversation, one that demanded privacy due to its sensitive nature.

Cedric frowned into his glass, swirling the liqueur absently. "It might be nothing, but yes…" He sighed, raising the drink to his thinly drawn lips again only to stop before imbibing further. "Typically they gather in one spot when something foul is afoot."

"Samhain?" she offered, believing it reasonable to suspect that the darker nature of her favourite holiday would make it a major night for the forces of the underworld.

Cedric set his glass aside and shook his head, his smile suggesting otherwise.

"What is it?"

"There is surprisingly little activity on Samhain. You'll basically have the night off. It's like an… undead holiday, if you will", Cedric explained, much to her disbelief.

"Don't holidays typically involve feasting?" Sofia countered, scrunching her nose distastefully at her own morbid train of thought.

"Alright, it isn't the best analogy, I'll grant you that much", Cedric conceded the point, reaching for his drink once again. "But I swear it's true, Samhain is like a temporary truce between demons and humans."

Sofia considered this, trying to think of any other reason for a swell in numbers. Suddenly, she recalled something that was said to her earlier in the night, not long before all hell broke loose. She hadn't found a chance to tell Cedric about it just yet, and there was always a chance that it could be relevant.

"The hooded man", she began, trying to puzzle out the details of a conversation that felt like it occurred a lifetime ago. "He said that the man with the talons was some sort of… Master vampire."

Cedric frowned, and she wondered if he knew what their not-quite-ally had meant by that.

"The hooded man said that talon man is a master?" Cedric repeated slowly, and Sofia nodded her affirmation.

"Yes. What do you think?" she pressed, leaning even closer.

Cedric chugged some more of his whiskey, eyeing her over the rim as he absorbed this information. Finally, he nursed the mug between his gloved hands and shrugged.

"I think there are far too many men in your life."

Sofia groaned at the joke, waiting for a more substantial answer that didn't come. "Cedric, be serious", she chided, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes at him.

"I am serious. Sofia, I–" He was just collecting her hand in one of his when a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Well, well… if it isn't two of my favourite people."

Sofia peeked up just in time to meet the sparkling emerald eyes of her long-time witch friend.

Lucinda perched on the arm of the chair, wrapping her arms around Sofia's shoulders and squeezing her tightly. "What are you guys doing here?"

When Cedric only stammered, at a loss for a decent fib, Sofia swept in to rescue him. "Talking about Samhain", she supplied, figuring it was more or less true.

"Perfect! Any plans? I'm off that night, so I'd be more than happy to tag along."

Her gaze travelled back and forth between the pair, and though Sofia knew there were still more important matters to be discussed, she was grateful for this nice, mundane change of subject.

"Well, there's the festival, of course," she answered, pausing to smile at Cedric, who was no doubt planning something spectacular for the event, as he did every year. "And I've just learnt that we'll be free the rest of the evening."

"Perfect!" Lucinda clapped her hands together eagerly. "We should go trick-or-treating, just like the old days."

"Aren't you two a little old for that?" Cedric countered, but Sofia was already busy considering the possibility.

"You are never too old for trick-or-treating", Lucinda insisted. "Besides, I don't know about you, but I wanna see what Sofia comes up with for a costume. Bet she'll look fantastic!"

Sofia giggled at the sing-song tone her friend's voice took on as she added the last part, but Cedric only bristled all the more.

"I'll be otherwise engaged. I have tasks to do for the festival, and after that, well… lots of reading to do, and all that."

Lucinda groaned, giving Sofia a 'can you believe him' nudge in the arm.

"Oh come on, Master Cedric", Lucinda drawled, invoking her brief period as his other apprentice in her attempt to persuade him. "Your books will survive one night without you."

"I'll go", Sofia interjected, expertly distracting Lucinda from her good-natured teasing. She could swear she saw a grateful smile flash across Cedric's face, so she nodded lightly in silent reply. "It's short notice, but I think I can manage a decent costume. Maybe an angel…?"

"That would be perfect. I could find a spell to conjure you some convincing wings", Lucinda bubbled, standing to pace while she plotted the details.

Sofia was just preparing to turn down the offer, recalling her sister's run in with magical wings when they were younger, when Cedric downed the last of his whiskey and stood abruptly.

"You're not leaving, are you?" she asked perhaps too quickly.

"Uhm, no… no, I was just going to get another round."

Though he said that, Sofia didn't miss the way his eyes landed on the door.

"Do you need more– it was Cider, right?"

She held up her half-filled glass to show that she was nowhere near ready for a refill just yet.

"I'll take a hard cider", Lucinda chimed in, but a withering glare caused her to chew her lip sheepishly.

"One regular cider it is", Cedric mumbled, taking his leave.

Both girls watched the shape of his retreating back until Lucinda shrugged, dropping herself onto Sofia's lap.

"So… am I," she paused, drawing in a deep breath and examining Sofia curiously. "Am I interrupting something?"

Sofia considered her answer carefully. It was technically true that the witch had come at an inopportune time, but she obviously meant it in a very different way, one that didn't involve the secretive discussion of blood-sucking fiends and their penchant for staying in on the upcoming holiday, nor of mystery men with their vague warnings and questionable allegiances.

"Of course not. Why do you ask?" she settled on good old-fashioned deflection, and this tactic seemed to work, at least for now.

"I don't know." Lucinda shrugged, flashing another glance over her shoulder toward the bar to check that they still had time to talk. "It just felt like Cedric was kind of cranky. I mean more than usual."

"I don't think he's been sleeping well", Sofia excused the behaviour, though she honestly wondered about his rapid change in mood since Lucinda had appeared, too.

It could just be that he was still trying to decide if they should trust what the hooded man had told her, and if it explained the phenomenon he was concerned over.

"Probably too busy planning the festiv– What?" she demanded, just now noticing the way Lucinda was staring at her.

"I feel like you're keeping secrets, and that's not allowed."

Sofia shook her head in emphatic denial, but this only prompted the witch to peer even closer.

"Come on, Sofia! We're practically sisters. You can tell me anything."

"Alright, fine. But you have to promise not to tell anyone…"

Lucinda made a hasty motion across her heart, but Sofia hesitated, praying her next words wouldn't stir up too much trouble.

* * *

Cedric rested against the bar as he waited for the drinks to come, keeping a watchful eye on the girls. Truthfully, the witch couldn't have come at a better moment, and he should be thankful to her for that. But all this talk of costumes and childish rituals was unsettling for reasons he either couldn't explain or didn't care to, and her presence was preventing them from making any headway on the vampire situation. If the 'Hooded Man' as Sofia had taken to calling him – and really, how else were they supposed to refer to the lad – really thought that the vampire who'd nearly bit Sofia was a Master, then that paired with her brief description of the monster might be enough for him to research further on his own, if only the persistent girl would let him out of her sight.

 _An angel_ , his thoughts sidetracked on their own accord. _Of all the things she could have chosen._ If he believed in psychics, he would easily confuse Sofia for one. After all, he'd made the comparison at least a few times this past week alone.

He cocked an eyebrow when both girls shot cautious looks in his direction, wondering what they could possibly be conspiring now. They returned to their whispering in short order, and the barkeep set two drinks in front of him.  _Alright, Cedric, time to snap out of it_ , he gave himself the pep-talk while downing half the glass of whiskey, then lifted the other glass to return to his seat.

"Oh, my… Gods! You're kidding?" Lucinda shouted, earning annoyed stares from most of the patrons.

Cedric hurried back, trying to avoid making assumptions about what had caused such a reaction, but only one possibility sprang to mind. _It can't be_ , he reassured himself.  _If there's anything that Sofia is an expert at, it's keeping secrets._

"What's going on here?"

Both heads snapped up to face him as he spoke.

"Nothing!" Sofia blurted out, but her cheeks flamed crimson, and she failed to meet his eyes.

"Just gossiping", Lucinda chirped at the same time, her lie only slightly less obvious than Sofia's.


End file.
